Girdler, Hines Sue County

By Susan Wheeldon, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.

Jul. 4–SOMERSET — Less than two weeks ago, Pulaski Fiscal Court voted to reduce the salaries of deputy judge Donnie Girdler and administrative assistant Lorie Hines.

Girdler and Hines countered by filing a lawsuit in Pulaski Circuit Court yesterday.

Through their attorney, Dan Venters, Girdler and Hines filed the suit against Pulaski County Fiscal Court, and Pulaski County, Ky., through magistrates Kenny Isaacs, Mike Strunk, Mike Wilson, Glenn Maxey, Tommy Barnett and Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock.

Girdler and Hines salaries were lowered to $39,292 for the next fiscal year, at the last fiscal court meeting on June 24. Hines would have been making $50,980 for the coming year and Girdler would have been making $49,940.

The change lowered Girdler’s salary by approximately $10,600, while Hines’ salary was lowered by approximately $11,600.

Last night, both Girdler and Hines told the Commonwealth Journal the suit was in response to the action taken at the last court meeting in regards to their salaries and personnel policy concerning their overtime and compensation time.

“It was a gross violation of the law,” Girdler added, “… to single out two people and do that.”

Hines said they also sued under the whistle-blower statute, and “all of that will be revealed” as the lawsuit progresses.

“I think the basis of the suit is really the whistle-blower statute … we felt like there’s been action going on like that for a long time,” said Girdler.

The court had previously approved $10,000 raises for both Girdler’s and Hines’ position at the first meeting Bullock and his administration held in January 2007.

The suit asks that a judgment declare their salary reduction void; the Pulaski County Administrative Code, Personnel Policies, enacted by the fiscal court on June 24, 2008, be void; punitive damages; and forbidding the defendant from further counteractions against Girdler and Hines. They also are asking that their court cost be paid for.

Other claims the suit makes include:

–Reducing the salaries of Girdler and Hines violates Kentucky Revised Statute 64.530 (4) and KRS 67.711.

Kentucky Revised Statute 64.530 (4) states that compensation for those elected and all of their deputies or assistants salaries should be fixed by the fiscal court no later than the first Monday in May, in the year the officers are elected and then can be reviewed and adjusted by the fiscal court not later than the first Monday in May of any of the following years, upon written request of the officer.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Revised Statute 67.711 states compensation fixed by the fiscal court should be fair.

–The fiscal court without legal authority and to the detriment of the Girdler and Hines amended personnel policies of the Pulaski County Administrative Code in a manner inconsistent with Kentucky law, abolishing the independent Personnel Policy Review Committee established by the County Administrative Code.

The personnel policy changes made the fiscal court at the last meeting said that instead of the Pulaski County Judge-Executive appointing a Personnel Policy Review Committee the fiscal court would do so and said the deputy judge-executive and administrative assistant can no longer receive overtime or compensation time.

The suit said this cut out the authority of the county judge-executive to administer personnel matters of the county and unlawfully declared the plaintiffs exempt from the provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and other provisions of law that affect the employment rights.

It said all these acts also occurred as a result of meetings and conduct by the members of the Pulaski County Fiscal Court in violation the law (KRS 61.800 through 61.850) that says that the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret.

–Girdler and Hines were subject to discrimination for reporting information in good faith to the Kentucky State Police, the Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Commonwealth’s Attorney and others information relative to actual or suspected mismanagement, waste, fraud and abuse of authority in regards to the government of Pulaski County.

County Attorney Bill Thompson and Bullock, both did not have a comment last night, when contacted by the Commonwealth Journal.

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Copyright (c) 2008, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.

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